THE FLOOD RELIEF FUND.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXIII, Issue 1814, 21 July 1906, Page 3

THE FLOOD RELIEF FUND.

(.To tbe Editor Gisborne Times q w'ould respectfully ask leave to lav before your readers a scheme, in outline only, whereby rchoi could be afforded to the sufferers by the flood without any taint of charity. It is proposed to raise about £2OOO to this end. Let the sum be raised if possible and utilised in the following manner:-Place the total sum subscribed to a relief fund m a bank. Ask some of our well known monied men to guarantee a loan from the bank of, say, 110.000 to £16,000, using the sum subscribed to pay the bank interest and other expenses, and lend the actual sums found necessary to place the settlers upon the same footing as they were found to be before the flood at say 1 per cent, interest, the principal to bo paid back in a certain number of years (to be hereafter determined), the guarantee requiring from the settlers a mortgage on their property to be ’lodged in the bank against sum advanced in the names of the trustees of the fund. There are many settlers who would not come forward and ask for relief, as a gift, who would gladly avail themselves of an opportunity to borrow the money at a low rate of interest and pay it back in instalments. This would in no wise clash with the interests of those who had already advanced money to any settlers, because the relief thus given would obviate the necessity of their making further advances and having to wait some considerable time before obtaining some return, and the easy terms of repayment of this_ loan would insure tlicir own advances being met. I must apologise for presenting this scheme in such a crude ' form, but at any rate the will give food for thought to those who are likely to take a prominent part in dealing with this question. 1 It is only fair to say that I obtained ilio idea trom Mr McKay, and he has given me leave to publish it. May it lead to some good in that some better suggestion may bs forthcoming.—Yours, etc., tjion may o RICHARD CQGAR.